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We asked (for the second year in a row) for pet selfies from our readers, and once again, pet owners jumped like a dog hearing the can opener.

OK, so a wild baby sea lion is not a pet, but still … we just had to share this picture sent to us by Bren Byerley of Bellingham.

We received more than 300 entries between the end of May, when we started calling for photos of people snuggling up with a pet, and the contest’s close, on June 29.

Most of the “pelfies” featured cats or dogs, of course, and more than a handful of birds. Judges were also treated to images of humans gazing affectionately at goats, horses, an emu, a bearded dragon, a squirrel and — yes, really — a young sea lion, which found the selfie-taker’s snorkel to be an irresistible chew toy.

Our panel sorted through images of impeccable purebreds and huggable mixed-breeds. Grumpy cats and two corgis that were faint-inducingly cute. A chicken with a glorious feathery frizzle on its head and a bird who went to a wedding. We noted some unusual names, such as Owl Grayshoes and Tycoon the cats, and Kitty and Mr. Urquhart the dogs.

Best of all, you shared your origin stories, and we were heartened at how many of you did things like saving a kitten abandoned on the highway or adopting a senior shelter dog or taking in an animal whose owner could no longer care for it. You’re all blue-ribbon folks in our book.

On to the prizewinners:

Grand prize, $100 gift card from Sierra Fish and Pets in Renton:

Gary Anderson and Belize the dog, Snoqualmie (pictured above).

Runners-up, $50 gift card to each from Sierra Fish and Pets:

Laurel Westbrook calls this photo of herself and Ava: “A morning full of … dog breath.”

Jason Yedinak: “We adopted Tinkerbelle from the Seattle Humane Society almost three years ago. She was still a baby when we adopted her — only 3 months old. I have had a lot of cats in my life, and Tinkerbelle is the best cat I’ve ever had. She loves to go on walks and hunt for slugs. She also likes to catch birds and sometimes even bats!”

Judges Choice, gift baskets from Sierra Fish and Pets:

Evan Schiller: “Just hanging out in the kitchen with my buddy Enzo. The greatest cat in the history of this planet.”

Christopher King and Elisa Bronstein: “We found Livi on Craigslist on a second rescue a year ago. Someone left her in the woods!!! A perfect derp!”

Joanna Corey: “Lewis and Clark are brothers from the same litter three years ago. However they couldn’t be more different. Clark’s personality is the comedian and peace maker. Lewis is the more serious of the two who is very possessive about his toys and is a natural guard dog. Whenever there is a conflict caused by Lewis whether it is barking at people walking by or growling over his food bowl, Clark is the one to rush in between Lewis and me as if to say, ‘It’s okay, he didn’t mean it and see what funny thing I can do.'”